Mt. Carmel and The Zoo Collaborate On Queen Bee

Mt. Carmel Brewing company is teaming up with the Cincinnati Zoo on a project that will help benefit the zoo’s local pollination programs. The beer will be available all summer long at the zoo – so if you find yourself there, grab a pint and know that it’s going to help something good!

About The Beer

Queen Bee is a Blackberry-Honey Blonde, a beer that in my mind will go great with the long hot summer days baking in the sun at the zoo.

The Brewery’s description reads:

This easy drinking blonde ale is accentuated with the addition of blackberries and honey from local sources. The result is an ale with subtle yet complex aromas of soft baked honey dough complimented by a hint of sweet blackberry that finishes tart inviting each additional sip.

The beer comes in at 5.1% ABV with a low 19 IBUs.

I had a chance to snag one of these while I was on my “Biggest Cincinnati Brewery Tour, Ever.” This past weekend, and although I got to try a lot of beer, and my opinion might be a little affected by that – I can tell you that this beer stood out as nice, refreshing and not too over the top. Blackberries and honey are two flavors that I feel are easily overdone, and neither was too in your face.

The Partnership

This beer was done in partnership with both the zoo, and the SSA (The Service Systems Associates, a food service management company for concessions). The beer was designed to be a beer for the zoo, by the zoo. The zoo and the SSA worked really closely with Mt. Carmel in the recipe creation as well as picking the name and even doing the artwork.

The beer benefits the zoo, and more specifically ‘Pollen Nation’ $1 from each pint sold in the taproom will go straight to the organization. You might not be really familiar with Pollen Nation (I know I wasn’t) but they’re doing some good things here in town. They’re a group of zoo employees dedicated to the little fuzzy European Honeybee. Established in 2015, they’ve been as busy as bees (sorry… I had to) working to define their goals and turnt them into a reality.

The mission of Pollen Nation is to promote polinator awareness by re-wilding habitats and inspiring action, all the while reconnecting the community to nature. Sounds like something I can get behind… right?

Where To Get The Beer

The Queen Beer will be available at the zoo, at five different locations all summer long, as well as being on tap at the MCBC taproom as long as it lasts. If that’s not enough, I’m hearing that there will be a limited amount put into bottles as well – keep your eyes peeled for details about this in the near future.

You really really need to keep your ear to the ground on this beer. If you’re a fan of the zoo, or animals, or fun events – I’m hearing rumblings about a zoo event at the taproom on July 1st, but details on this are still forthcoming, so pay close attention to Mt. Carmel’s social media channels for more!